SoxSport

As I said in the previous post, I think Farrell has been slow to make batting order changes. Pedey doesn't belong hitting 3rd--not enough power. he's a no.2 hitter. Nava should lead off, as Jung said. I don't like the current lineup anyways. They are stuck with playing those FAs--which makes them one-dimensional, except for Vic. I think Cherington will come to realize his error signing all those DHs to compete with Ortiz. That's what it amounts to. They had a more balanced lineup opening day in NY.

Farrell is disappointing in that he hasn't done much to try to stem this slide. He keeps Ells-Vic at the 1-2 for their speed, when actually OBP is more important. Ells had two walks tonite. Amazing for him. Vic went ofer4. I would bat Nava-Pedey 1-2, two of their best on-base guys. You have to have baserunners ahead of Ortiz-Napoli at 3-4. Nava isn't in the game tonite, because Gomes needs to play. It isn't clear that Nava has to be platooned. He seems ready to play regularly. Their chemistry isn't that great right now. Gomes can't get much PT with Ortiz back and Nava looking good. Napoli is a defensive liability at 1B. It's clear that they have 3 DHs on this team--Ortiz, Napoli and Gomes. An indication the FO wasn't paying much attention to defense in its FA signings--except for Vic. And he was really signed for CF insurance. I think the team that opened in Yankee stadium was better--more balanced and more speed. Bradley, however, didn't last at the plate and Iggy lost out to the money. Plus Middlebrooks stopped hitting. So has Ells recently. They were playing better ball early, and didn't have Ortiz.

Vic cleared to play. What this means in their organization is 3 games in Pawtucket.

The day of rest is not for Ortiz. It's for Napoli. Ortiz just benefits. That's an expensive way to give Napoli a rest. And Gomes on the bench, too. Cherington really has signed 3 DHs.

The FO must be running the show. Never thought Tito was his own manager in Boston.

Yesterday was a classic Red Sox mishandling of pitching. Taking a quality starter out after just 101 pitchers in a tie game. You wouldn't expect that from Farrell, who has done an excellent job reviving Lester and Buchholz this year. But lately he has fallen into the trap of overworking the bullpen--especially Tazawa and Uehara. Pitching those two guys in Texas down 8-1 and even 5-1 the next night was a mistake--he did not have them when he needed them in closer games the next few. And the one inning per appearance bit is a killer--guaranteed burnout. Too many BP heatups. Tazawa is already showing signs of being overpitched. The solution is to keep those starter pitchcounts at 110-120 pitches in quality starts. Get the extra inning out of them. And have long relievers ready to take over when a starter doesn't have it on a given day. get him out before the game is lost. Long relievers are a lost art in baseball. Used to be reserved for starters coming off the DL and young guys trying to crack the rotation. Yesterday, Bumgarner went 112 pitches and Darvish 117 pitches in wins. Buchholz goes 101 pitches and Red Sox lose on the pitcher change. That says it all.

yeah. He's an injury freak. There are a number of those in baseball, and you should avoid them. They got rid of Lawrie because of that, and now they have another. Cherington made the deal under duress--he was told to hold the line on spending, so he thought himself very clever to move cheap Bard to starter and trade for cheap Bailey. The rest is history. Bailey stubs his thumb, and misses almost the whole season. So next year, he goes out and gets Hanrahan, figuring two closers is better than one. Except now he's paying big bucks for two guys, where previously he had cheap Bard (when he was good) and Pap for about the same total bucks. And Hanrahan is probably done as a Red Sox. And Bailey remains iffy with arm problems. I think the killer was moving Bard to starter. That took him off the board as closer, and it backfired completely. Cherington resisted the manager who wanted Bard in the BP, and you know what happened. Moving Bard to starter triggered these two moves for Bailey and Hanrahan. It was a disaster.

Unless he comes around, the handwriting is on the wall. In the presence of Victorino.

Imagine a leadoff batter not scoring runs. And Farrell keeps him batting leadoff. When you start losing games, there are always good reasons.

The Yanks were on the positive side of 3-2 game today while the Red Sox were on the negative side. Farrell blew his game by taking Buchholz out at 101 pitches. Bochy kept Bumgarner in the extra inning and 112 pitches. The difference between the Giants and the pitch count obsessed Red Sox. Buchholz was seen throwing a jar of bullfrog in the dugout after that Tazawa HR, which just missed Farrell.

The Yankees could take any LHd hitter from most teams and make him a couple of notches better just playing in that stilted Yankee stadium. Besides, the Yankees insist on plate discipline. You don't swing at 1st pitches unless the ball looks like a grapefruit. That, by the way, doesn't explain Wells. I suspect Wells has been drinking the same grape juice as Papi. But the media never questions the Yankees on such matters.

Yeah, it's pretty obvious Ells isn't a leadoff hitter. The kid has never been able to get walks. He has to move down the lineup. Pedey has to move up to 2nd. Vic-1st. But there is a pecking order on this team. And the peck says Ells leads off unless he shows power. Dumb management.

Farrell lost the game just taking Buchholz out, and replacing him with an unknown. He'll lose 6 more games like this by overmanaging the bullpen. The policy sucks. And he's not the only manager that does it.

Farrell kept Lester in last night, but I guess it's asking too much for a manager to use common sense two nights in a row.

big mistake taking Buchholz out at 101 pitches. it's called fixing what ain't broke. classic overmanaging that never would happen 20 years ago. just asking for trouble.

The media is after Papi for PEDS. Cripes, it's the Buchholz/bullfrog story deja vu. Everybody's doing it, but let's pick on the Red Sox. No question about how all those old castoffs are doing it for the Yankees. Hafner, Overbay, Wells...

Farrell may have learned his lesson about pitching Tazawa and Uehara in garbage situations. If the Red Sox win and Yankees lose tonite, MLB TV will have nothing to talk about tommorrow. They spent tonite gushing about the Yankees, while the Red Sox have been trying to dig themselves out of a pile of media mud.

If only closers were as durable as GMs.

They started the season playing smallball, with a smallball lineup. They got pitching, and won games. Maybe Ortiz had a negative effect in the lineup, oddly enough. Too many guys started copying him, instead of trying to get on base. Drew certainly had a negative effect--didn't hit a lick for 2 weeks and cut down the range at SS and speed on the bases. MBks has lost his batting eye. Gomes can't get into the lineup. Closers hurt. Farrell needs to roll the film back, and figure out what they were doing right a couple of weeks ago.

It's alarming they are losing at home to such a lousy team as Minnesota, and can't hit one of the worst staffs in baseball.

I see they're suddenly after Papi for PEDs. First it was Buchholz, now Ortiz. Do I detect a trend? The club was 12-4 when Papi came back. Been playing about .500 since, but they have lost a lot lately. Ortiz has been thumping pretty well, but it's still the pitching that wins or loses for them. Doubt Ortiz is a major factor.

The Yankees took 3 or 4 ageing castoffs from other teams nobody wanted, and turned them into chicken salad--at least for the month of April. But that was for just April. It's a long season. But some of those LHd hitters look 10 years younger hitting in Yankee stadium--which has always been the Yankees' biggest success factor, anyways.

When a good pitcher gets hit, it usually means he is making his pitches too good--down the middle of the plate. I figure maybe Salty had something to do with that. Ross is much better behind the plate, and caught Webster last time. Salty doesn't frame pitches on the corners--usually puts his glove in the middle of the plate, the last place it should be. That much we can see. As to what pitches he calls, we can't judge that. They'd have been better off bringing Lav up to catch Webster, who is more familiar with him, and is a better catcher than Salty, anyways, from what I've seen. But that requires quicker thinking than maybe the FO is capable of. And a bit more paperwork. Plus their vested interest in Salty, which may be the overriding factor.

How the hell are we supposed to know "how bad this is"? Maybe you mean how bad is it for the Red Sox they have two closers who can't stay healthy?

Here's another: the FO has banned the use of "bullfrog" by Red Sox pitchers.